Real-time information about a pavement’s surface can help transportation agencies ensure roads have adequate traction and salt is applied only where it’s needed. This Clear Roads project evaluated roadway grip data as a viable source for informing winter maintenance operations, and developed models that use the data to identify the need for salt applications.
Clear Roads is currently soliciting investigator proposals for seven new research projects. For all projects, the deadline to submit proposals is Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Clear Roads held its fall business meeting last month in Bloomington, Minnesota from September 16-18.
The Mechanical Rocker Test method, originally developed by Nebraska DOT more than a decade ago, was validated through Clear Roads research project 18-06 as a low-cost and repeatable method for determining the efficacy of liquid deicers. As a result of this work, all transportation agencies can objectively compare deicers on the market.
This recently completed Clear Roads synthesis project surveyed member states and other winter maintenance professionals and reviewed relevant literature to help transportation agencies implement effective policies and best practices for properly managing video and image data.
In this episode, Dan Gullickson, supervisor of Minnesota DOT’s Blowing Snow Program, discusses the agency’s processes and best practices for designing effective snow fences.
Clear Roads project 20-06, Salt Shed Design Template, developed guidance for a set of scalable salt shed designs that can be used as a basic template depending on a DOT’s salt storage needs.
Check out the recent research from transportation organizations around the country.
Check out these recent episodes of the Talkin’ Winter Ops podcast:
To add year-round value to the state’s snow fences, the Minnesota Department of Transportation conducted a research study exploring the functional and economic viability of installing solar panels on the fences to create clean energy without using any additional land.